These small flying Heartless are able to spontaneously appear behind their targets and possess them.If you are ensnared, rapidly press buttons to shake loose.Hover Ghosts are quick to blink out of harm's way, but negative status effects will prevent them from vanishing.

A Hover Ghost is a humanoid creature with white skin clad in a black coat with gold cuffs. It wears white gloves on its large, long-fingered hands, which are not directly connected to the Heartless’s body and can be "thrown" at enemies. A few holes in the coat expose the creature's ribcage. Its Heartless emblem is printed on the front of its coat.

The Hover Ghost's spherical head sports a jagged mouth and two yellow eyes with black spirals in them. Its right eye hangs down from its socket, attached to its head by a silver chain. It can generate yellow spotlights from its eyes, suggesting that they may be mechanical in some fashion. The Hover Ghost's lower body is a simple, ghostly tail.

The Hover Ghost's name reflects its ability to levitate as well as its appearance, which resembles that of a stereotypical ghost. Its Japanese name, "Leer Ghost", has several possible meanings. "Leer" can refer to a malicious sideways look one gives to another, referring to the Heartless's beacon and dangling eye. It could also refer to a state of extreme wanting, which could, in turn, be a reference to ghosts that linger on because of intense worldly desires.

Hover Ghosts can teleport through the air, making them harder to hit. The Hover Ghost can slash at you with a claw, which is fairly easy to dodge with Dodge Roll or Air Slide equipped in your panels.

They can also grab you with their claws and carry you higher, draining your health. They will eventuallly release you if you press random buttons rapidly, but this attack deals a lot of damage, often depleting the player's entire HP bar. However, this attack can be nullified by wearing the Nothing to Fear ring.